Iraqis in Germany


Iraqis in Germany include migrants from Iraq to Germany, as well as their descendants. The number of Iraqis in Germany is estimated at around +300,000 people. Of which 122,000 refugees accepted in 2015. The Iraqi community is made up of ethnic Arabs, Kurds, Iraqi Turkmen, as well as smaller minority groups.

History and population

The number of Iraqis in Germany is estimated at around 300,000. In 2015, out of 2,727 asylum applications for Iraqi refugees, only 8.3 percent were accepted. Some sources claim there to be just around 40,000 Iraqi refugees residing in Germany. In 2006, Germany granted just 8.3 percent of Iraqi asylum demands, according to the ministry.
In 2006, Germany received 2,117 applications for asylum from Iraqis, which is the third highest number in the EU. The country is already home to a sizeable Iraqi population, many of whom were granted protection by the German authorities after fleeing persecution from Saddam Hussein’s former regime. However, the recognition rate for Iraqis has fallen from an average of 57 per cent between 1997 and 2001, to a mere 11 per cent for the year 2006, which is one of the lowest in the European Union.
However, Germany has adopted another policy towards Iraqi refugees which has distinguished it from all other EU states, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior has taken the unique step of systematically revoking the refugee status of thousands of Iraqis who were granted protection before 2003. Since the threat of persecution from the Iraqi Ba’ath regime is no longer present, 18,000 Iraqi refugees who entered the country before the 2003 invasion have thus had their refugee status revoked, placing them in a situation of uncertainty and precariousness. In June 2007, the German government asked the asylum authorities to temporarily suspend the revocation of refugee status for certain groups of Iraqis such as those from Baghdad, single women, and members of religious or ethnic minorities such as Iraqi Assyrians.
70,000+
It was estimated in April 2007 that 14,000 Iraqis were living with 'tolerated status' in Germany, with the threat of possible imminent deportation hanging over them.

Notable people